Perspectives
on
Major, Minor and Amateur
League Baseball Stadiums in the Good, Old New England Summertime! You
can also buy your
here.

Fenway
Park Green Monster (photo by Eric H.)

Article
and photo by Eric H.

No
matter how large our big screen
televisions get, the
highest definition of watching a baseball game takes place right at the
stadium.

For
many, the essence of summer can be
found by sitting

back
on a sunny summer afternoon with a hot dog, popcorn and beer or
soft drink while breathing in the perfect pastoral symmetry of
America's Favorite Pastime. Whether it's a major, minor or amateur
league
baseball game really doesn't matter -- the spirit of the crowd and
the leisurely process of the game bring a truly three-dimensional
summertime piece of heaven to our baseball hearts and then our minds.
With the crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd, the familiar cheesy
organ music, hokey, animated scoreboard
graphics and often locally-sponsored on-the-field contests (mostly at
minor league games), attending a live baseball game validates in person
baseball's presence as a true slice of Americana.

New
England offers much to cheer about when
it comes to
baseball. Of course, leading off is Fenway
Park (seating capacity 37,000), home of the -- now we can
say it -- World Champion
Boston Red Sox in Boston,
MA.
Cozy, intimate 1912-born Fenway Park with its unorthodox 37-ft. high
Green
Monster Wall in
left field (see picture above), relatively small seating capacity, and
one-of-a-kind architectural nooks and crannies (Pesky's pole in right
field is only 302 ft. from home plate!) throughout the stadium make
this a
must-see destination for any baseball fan. Speaking of baseball fans,
everything you've heard about their impassioned love for the game is
absolutely true, from the working-class guy with stentorian tendencies
to the pink-capped women who sway to Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline"
played on the speakers in the middle of the eighth inning. Recent stadium
improvements include increased seating capacity, bigger fan concourses,
and better food offerings such as as shrimp roll, lobster roll and
steak tips! Fenway Park also offers a fun-filled, informative and
educational tour
of the ballpark, led by many locals who know and love the
game -- quite entertaining, indeed. Fenway Park, 4 Yawkey Way,
Boston, MA. Tel. (617) 226-6000.

If you
don't feel like spending a lot for
Red Sox
tickets, then assigning yourself to
the Minor Leagues is your cup of tea. Still wonderfully family-oriented
and quite affordable our first
recommendation is to catch a Triple A Pawtucket
Red Sox baseball
game at McCoy Stadium (seating
capacity 10,000, box seats only $10.00!)
in Pawtucket, RI. Thoroughly modernized but yet traditional,
McCoy Stadium is a beautifully constructed and
restored work of art (built in 1942 nd restored in 1999). It's a
you-have-to-be-there scenario, but
McCoy just looks like a
baseball stadium -- no fancy, modern ugly, cookie-cutter
architecture here.
Comfortable seats, good concessions with all the basics (hot dogs,
hamburgers, pizza beer, etc.), very clean rest rooms, a
packed-to-the-gills gift shop, and a community of baseball fans that
seem to love the game more than at other stadiums, McCoy Stadium is an
instant "hall of fame" caliber stadium for anyone remotely interested
in
baseball. The spirit is truly tremendous and quite family-oriented.
Like its parent team, the Boston Red Sox, the Pawtucket Red Sox are
looking mighty good these days with some amazing prospects like
pitchers Daniel Bard (just called up to the Red Sox), Michael Bowden
and Clay Bucholz. Pawtucket is also a few minute's drive to the
fantastic
city of Providence,
RI. We recommend heading to the Italian-flavored Federal Hill
neighborhood and grabbing some delicious thin or thick crust pizza at
Sicilia's (181 Atwells Ave., Providence, RI 401-273-9222)! McCoy
Stadium, 1 Columbus Ave., Pawtucket, RI. Tel. (401) 724-7300.

Portland
Hadlock Field (capacity 6,500) in Portland, Maine,
is home to the Portland
Sea Dogs, the Double A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox.
Ideally located near the small city coastal splendor of historic,
charming Portland, Hadlock Field has a spacious feel and one of the
most entertaining mascots, "Slugger" the dog. A Maine lighthouse pops
out of
the outfield wall when the Sea Dogs win or hit a home run! The
concession stand is quite impressive, too, with the Sea Dog haddock
fillet sandwich, the Sea Dog ice cream biscuit, New England Coffee,
local micro brews like Casco Bay, and good, old ball park standbys like
hamburgers, Kayem's hot dogs, popcorn chicken, pizza, peanuts and
cracker jacks! Portland
Hadlock Field, 271 Park Ave., Portland, ME. Tel. (207) 874-8200.

Campanelli
Stadium (capacity 6,000) in Brockton, MA, features the Brockton Rox,
a
collegiate baseball team.
Although the Rox have no Major League Baseball affiliation, it
really doesn't matter. The players play their hearts out in a stadium
with a lot of heart. With the spirited amateur baseball players and K-O
the Boxing Kangaroo entertaining the crowds, going to Campanelli
Stadium is a terrific summer place for the family. Myriad promotions
like the bull-riding rodeo event, an opening day clown band, pitching
accuracy contests and Scout Night (where Boy Scouts sleep overnight in
tents on the field) epitomize the high level of old-fashioned fun to go
along with a surprisingly high level of baseball being played (we saw
very fundamentally sound Brockton Rox players during the game). Campanelli
Stadium, 1 Lexington
Ave., Brockton, MA. Tel. (508) 559-7000.

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points-of-view on VisitingNewEngland.com, unless otherwise specified.
Rates and event dates are subject to change. We recommend calling your
New England
destination first before setting out on the planned itinerary.